What does the TANF Final Rule say about child-only cases?
In keeping with the overall TANF policy of state flexibility, the Final Rule, published on April 12, 1999, does not regulate on the definition of a family or on which household members must be included in an assistance unit. States have broad freedom to define these terms. Reflecting concerns that States might undermine the federal work participation rates and time limits by excluding adults (particularly parents) from their eligible cases, the TANF Data Report includes an element that will identify the specific cases in the disaggregated sample that have become child-only cases. This will allow HHS and other interested parties to examine the circumstances causing cases to become child-only and to determine whether this issue requires further attention.
